The latest in a series of controversies surrounding the Donald J. Trump Foundation arose last week when the Washington Post‘s David Fahrenthold reported on an important administrative misstep. The Republican presidential candidate’s charitable entity, evidently, “never obtained the certification that New York requires before charities can solicit money from the public.”And that’s a problem. On top of the foundation’s other problems, state laws require any charity to obtain the necessary registration before accepting outside funds. By all appearances, the Trump Foundation never did, raising legal questions about the entire operation.NBC News reported today on the state Attorney General’s office taking action.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office on Monday ordered the Donald J. Trump Foundation to “immediately cease soliciting contributions” after a report that the charity lacked the proper authorization to seek public donations. […]The “Notice of Violation” letter obtained by NBC News warned that the charity “shall be deemed a continuing fraud upon the people of New York” unless it provided required paperwork regarding its fundraising activities within the next 15 days.
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Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."